Being A Health Nut & Chocoholic – Healthy Chocolate Is Expensive

I have high standards for what I eat, as should we all; but unfortunately those high standards do not come cheap. My weekly grocery bills are much higher than they would be if I ate hot dogs and Mr.Noodles every day (bleh), but I’m much healthier for it and would much rather spend the extra money on putting proper nutrients into my body. The problem here is that I love chocolate. Like, a lot. I love it like dogs love peanut butter. But healthy chocolate is expensive.

The Cost Of Healthy Chocolate

The chocolate bars you see in the checkout line at the grocery store are cheap; like, really cheap. A dollar or less for an Aero bar is affordable, but it isn’t even remotely healthy. There’s still an argument to be made as to whether any chocolate can actually be healthy, but typically, the chocolate found at a health food stores will be free from a lot of the refined sugars, chemicals, and other junk that the really cheap chocolate has; thus, I’m calling it ‘healthy chocolate’.  Unfortunately, healthy chocolate can be really expensive, so what is there for a chocoholic to do?

Raw Bites

There’s a raw cafe in town and they sell an assortment of smoothies, juices, meals, and desserts; all 100% raw. Everything is delicious, especially their raw chocolate bites. They’re made with raw cacao, agave, pecans, coconut, and some other ingredients I can’t recall. They are amazingly tasty, low in calories, quite healthy, and very expensive. Of course, when I go, I buy six at a time because they are so small. They cost about $3.25 each, and they are so tiny that that amount is gone within two days then I’m left staring into my fridge wondering when I can get out of the house to buy more.

Raw Chocolate Bar

I’ll also often get these raw chocolate bars from Raw Magic which, by the way, are the best tasting raw chocolate bars I’ve ever had. Unfortunately, they run about $7.00 a bar, and I’ll go through about one a day since they’re pretty small.

Organic Chocolate Bar

I’m a vegetarian who really tries to eat minimal amounts of dairy, but when I do, my go-to chocolate bar is the organic milk chocolate bar from Green & Blacks. This one is found in a lot of stores, so the price varies, but I’ll usually get it on sale for around $4.00, (full price is $5.49). This is the least healthy option and certainly the highest in calories (525 per bar!), but it is seriously delicious…. making it very dangerous for a chocoholic like me.

The Expense

So how much am I actually spending just on chocolate in a single month? (Do I even want to know?)

I eat well, lots of smoothies and salads, nuts, seeds, and unprocessed foods, but I still get chocolate in my diet nearly every day; usually from either the raw bites or the raw chocolate bar; and if I’m eating dairy, the milk chocolate bar is added to the mix. Let’s add it up:

Total: $154 per month… Just on chocolate! (Before tax)

Considering chocolate is the single biggest expense on my grocery bill, I think I need to minimize it and maybe switch it out for more baking… like chocolate chip cookies! I’ve even made some raw dark chocolate before, but it didn’t compare to the store bought stuff unfortunately. The better alternative here, of course, is to keep buying the chocolate I like but to eat less of it right? Well that is easier said than done. Chocoholic, remember?

To Conclude

Do you struggle between buying ‘healthy chocolate’ and the price of it? Or have you figured out a way to pace yourself? If so, tell me. I need to know these things.

Disclaimer

The contents of this website are for informational purposes only and should not be considered any type of medical advice. The information provided in this website should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health condition or disease, and should not be substituted for professional care. Every human is biochemically different and what works for one person may not work for another. If you suspect or have a medical condition, consult an appropriate health care provider.